Worldwide Shipments of Slate Tablets Continue to Decline While
Detachable Tablets Climb to New High, According to IDC

February 01, 2016 08:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Despite the holiday season, the worldwide tablet market declined yet
again in the fourth quarter of 2015 (4Q15) with 65.9 million units
shipped, down -13.7% year over year, according to preliminary data from
the International Data Corporation (IDC)
Worldwide
Quarterly Tablet Tracker. Total shipments for 2015 were 206.8
million, down -10.1% from 230.1 million in the prior year. Despite the
market's negative trajectory overall, shipments for detachable tablets
reached an all-time high of 8.1 million devices.

The transition towards detachable devices appears to be in full swing as
pure slate tablets experienced their greatest annual decline to date of
-21.1%. On the other hand, detachable tablets more than doubled their
shipments since the fourth quarter of last year.

"This quarter was unique as we had new detachables in the market from
all three of the major platform players," said Jitesh
Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst with IDC's Worldwide
Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. "Despite lukewarm reviews, the
iPad Pro was the clear winner this season as it was the top selling
detachable, surpassing notable entries from Microsoft and other PC
vendors. It's also important to note that the transition towards
detachable tablets has presented positive opportunities for both Apple
and Microsoft. However, Google's recent foray into this space has been
rather lackluster as the Android platform will require a lot more
refinement to achieve any measurable success."

Perhaps the most interesting trend to note is that prices on slate
tablets have not yet hit rock bottom. Amazon’s $50 (or $42 for bulk
shoppers) tablet was the holiday season's surprise hit, garnering the
number 3 rank among the worldwide top 5. Rival vendors like Huawei and
Lenovo also continued to focus on the low end while also expanding
outside their home country China.

"One of the biggest reasons why detachables are growing so fast is
because end users are seeing those devices as PC replacements," said Jean
Philippe Bouchard, Research Director, Tablets at IDC. "We believe
Apple sold just over two million iPad Pros while Microsoft sold around
1.6 million Surface devices, a majority of which were Surface Pro and
not the more affordable Surface 3. With these results, it's clear that
price is not the most important feature considered when acquiring a
detachable – performance is."

Tablet Vendor Highlights

Apple's reign as market leader continued in 4Q15 though the
company faced a -24.8% year-over-year decline. With the successful
launch of the iPad Pro, the company was able to curb the decline in iPad
revenues as its model mix shifted towards higher priced iPads.

Samsung managed to keep its second position in the market though
it did decline by -18.1% compared to last year. Samsung is the vendor
with the deepest tablet portfolio and manages to reach multiple price
points and screen sizes, a position that will facilitate the transition
to detachables in 2016.

Amazon's latest Kindle iteration piqued everyone's interest with
its low price point, allowing Amazon's annual growth to reach 175.7%,
the highest amongst the top 5. Amazon's success in the tablet market has
thus far been purely based on price. While this bodes well during the
holiday season, it's unlikely the Kindle's success will continue in the
remainder of the year.

Lenovo maintained its market share in the last quarter of 2015,
shipping 3.2 million units for a -13.5% decline over the same period
last year. However, the Yoga, MIIX, and Thinkpad brands' combined
traditional PC savoir faire should help Lenovo regain market share in
2016.

Huawei's focus remains on cellular-connected tablets and
international expansion. The company has positioned itself well in the
adjacent smartphone market and its popularity is likely to bleed over
into the tablet market.

Total tablet market includes slate tablets plus detachable tablets.
References to "tablets" in this release include both slate tablets and
detachable devices.

In addition to the table above, an interactive graphic showing worldwide
unit shipment annual growth by product over the previous five quarters
is available here.
The chart is intended for public use in online news articles and social
media. Instructions on how to embed this graphic can be found by viewing this
press release on IDC.com.

About IDC Trackers

IDC
Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor
share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than
100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research
processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and
monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly
excel deliverables and on-line query tools. The IDC Tracker Charts app
allows users to view data charts from the most recent IDC Tracker
products on their iPhone
and iPad.
The IDC Tracker Chart app is also available for Android
Phones and Android
Tablets.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of
market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information
technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With
more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and
local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in
over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals,
business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based
technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives.
Founded in 1964, IDC is a subsidiary of IDG,
the world's leading technology media, research, and events company. To
learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com.
Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC.

All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks
of their respective holders.